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By Henry Akubuiro
The 5th Prof. Fidelis Okafor International Conference, organized by the Literati Philosophia, in conjunction with the Eastern Nigeria Writers Forum, which held at Best Western Hotel, Awka, recently, was a remarkable difference from the previous.
It was the first time the immediate past Vice Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, would be attending after the first edition. Besides, he attracted confetti for his achievements as a university administrator.
The ongoing ASUU nationwide strike affected the turnout, but what it lacked in crowd, it made up with a potpourri of intellectual diets served by resource persons and participants.
The event got under way when Barrister G.N. Orji, who chairs the Literarti Philosophia, welcomed the gathering to the intellectual conference. One of the founders of the conference, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, Dean, Faculty of Arts, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam, traced its origin to a meeting of the Eastern Nigerian Writers Forum five years ago in Owerri, Imo State.
She recalled that the Eastern Nigeria Writers Forum chose to name the conference after Professor Okafor, having considered a long list, on account of his sterling performance at the then Anambra State University, Igbariam, She was delighted that the conference had continued to flourish since then, while expressing optimism that the fourth edition would be another success.
The Igwe of Obosi, Eze Chidubem Iweka III, presented a keynote speech on the theme of the conference, “Humanities and Social Sciences: Search for New Perspectives in Confronting Emerging Global Issues”.
In discussing global issues, the keynote speaker, noted that some of the serious and highly debilitating global issues like war, religious crisis, genocide, among others, “have lived with us for millenniums, yet climate change, which now poses the biggest threat to humanity was only discovered officially just a century ago.”
Other global issues threatening mankind, he said, included increasing industrialisation, explosive (urban) population and lack of control, poverty and hunger, unchecked dumping of waste, ocean acidification, acid rain, religious fanaticism and its attendant genocide, mass killings, ethnic cleansings, and internet fraud.
Highlighting new perspectives deployed in confronting some of the global issues, he said, “Whether old or new perspective, education and awareness will always remain a constant in combating global issues. Some are uneducated and totally uninformed, while some educated ones are also uninformed and lack awareness.”
He was delighted that a young Nigerian recently designed an electronic power pack that powers the motorised tricycle, Keke Napepe, for two days of commercial use before being due for recharge, as well as creating a charging equipment that could be placed in different areas of a given locale as recharge units. “This young man has made his own mark in confronting serious global issues of pollution,” he said.
Above all, “When you shout out against ethnic cleansing, genocide and discrimination; when you counsel a proponent of religious fanaticism; when you teach others the need for tree planting and fight against deforestation; when you join a mass protest to mount pressure on world leaders and the United Nations to step up programmes to combat climate change; even when you feed the poor to save them from starvation, you are surely confronting global issues,” he said.
In his remarks, Prof. Fidelis Okafor appreciated the Literati Philosophia and the Eastern Nigeria Writers Forum, “who, in their wisdom, conceived this conference, an intellectual gathering of scholars from different parts of the world. It is an international conference to provide a forum where people who are committed to research, both from the town and the gown, to meet and discuss issues of concern to humanity, This conception, which we have also put into execution for the past five years, is noble.”
He drew a round of applause when he hinted that the conference might not only be held in Anambra, but outside the country. “I am foreseeing a future when we can decide to move this conference not only out of Anambra but to any part of Nigeria, Africa and the world,” said the philosopher.
A delegation of the Ecowas Youth Council, led by its chairperson, Ologun William, declared Professor Okafor its distinguished Man of the Year and the recipient of the Nelson Mandela Leadership Award for Educational Development. Before now, the award, he said, had been given to prominent West African leaders, who had contributed immensely to the education in the West African sub region.
They included the former President of Ghana, Ali Mahama; former Liberian President, Sirleaf Johnson; former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan; and posthumously to former Bukinabe President, Thomas Sankara, former Ghanaian President, Kwameh Nkuruma.
Among other considerations, Prof Fidelis Okafor was lionised by the Ecowas Youth Council as an academic “whose antecedents at the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University was second to none”; hence, “all the young people of West Africa wants to identify with you as a living legend, a great man of our time, a father to many, who has given a lot to many people in different spheres of life.”
The journal of the Literati Philosophia was also presented to the public on the occasion, while the second session of the confab featured paper presentations by scholars, moderated by Dr. Ogaga Okuyade of Niger Delta University, Amasoma, and Dr. Boniface Anyanwu of the Delta State University, Abraka.
Among the dignitaries present at the event were the Igwe of Atani, Augustine Ngoddy; the Corps Commandant Ajayi (now late), Engr. Onyekwelu Nwadiuoto (Guest of Honour), Hon. Beverly Ikpeazu and Hon. Chinwe Nwaebili.
